Open call for evidence

Parental leave and pay review: summary of existing evidence

Updated 3 July 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Introduction to the evidence

Parental leave and pay is underpinned by a substantial and diverse body of research, reflecting its significance as an important area of public policy. While we acknowledge the breadth of this evidence, this summary report focuses on evidence directly commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade.

The findings in this report provide a summary of quantitative survey data and we have separately presented the latest HMRC administrative data reporting the number of individuals in receipt of parental pay. It is strongly recommended to refer to the original survey reports to understand the full methodology and interpretation guidance – details on those sources are included below.

The summary findings in this report are structured under a number of themes including the number of births, eligibility to leave, awareness, take-up, how leave is used, pay received on leave, return to work, impact of taking leave, enablers and barriers, attitudes towards shared parenting. The parental leave and pay review presents a valuable opportunity to enhance the existing robust evidence base through engagement with parents, stakeholders, academic experts, and other government departments.

Although, not directly referenced in this paper, relevant information on employed parents is also available from the ONS including:

• employment rates of people by parental status
• employment rates for men and women living with and without dependent children in the UK
• employment rate of parents living with dependent children by family type and age of the youngest child in the UK
• economic activity and employment type for men and women by age of the youngest dependent child living with them in the UK
• parents living with dependent children in the UK by economic activity and by single year of age of youngest dependent child

Further valuable information on international parental leave policies and their outcomes is summarised by the Leave Network and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Parental Rights Survey (formerly Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey series)

The report and data tables are published on the Institute for Employment Studies website and the underlying micro-data is available on the UK Data Service.

The Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey (MPRS) series has monitored the take-up of maternity and family benefits and post-birth employment decisions since the late 1970s, with the last survey conducted in 2019 which was named the Parental Rights Survey to better reflect the topics covered. The survey delivered insight into the take-up of maternity and paternity leave and pay addition to more recent policies Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and shared parental pay and antenatal leave.

The survey also provides evidence on mothers and fathers decision-making and experiences of return to work; attitudes of parents towards family leave, childcare responsibility, and returning to work; and factors that enable both men and women to remain in work while playing a role in their child’s upbringing from birth.

Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey

The report and data tables are published by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and the underlying micro-data is available on the UK Data Service. The Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey (MWPS, 2018 to 2019) is a representative survey of 2,489 workplaces with 5 or more employees in Great Britain.

It was undertaken in late 2018 and early 2019 to provide evidence on how employers were responding to policy developments in flexible working, in-work support for parents and collective rights. Interviews were carried out with the most senior manager in the workplace responsible for human resource issues, with fieldwork taking place between September 2018 and February 2019.

The sample for the MWPS was drawn from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which is held and maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A combination of the Child Benefits Register (CBR) and Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF) was used to ensure full coverage of parents in Great Britain with a child aged 18 to 24 months. The 2018 to 2019 MWPS is a successor to the 2013 work life balance survey and where relevant, comparisons are drawn between 2013 survey findings of employer practices prior to SPL’s introduction in 2015, and the 2018 to 2019 survey findings.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) real time information (RTI) data

HMRC receive a record of payments employers make to their employees through their PAYE RTI system. PAYE RTI data covers the whole claimant population (for those paid through PAYE), rather than a sample as with surveys. However, the statistics produced are limited to what the administration system reports. HMRC have provided data on the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP), Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) and the amount paid to claimants, in total and broken down by gender, age, government office region (based on claimant resident), number of consecutive months in a tax year that a claimant was in receipt a payment for, and by earnings of the claimant in the previous tax year.

The statistics cover the period April 2014 up to end of March 2024. It is important to note that RTI data is subject to revision and there may be small fluctuations between earlier iterations of data extracts, so the figures included in this report should not be considered “final”. These data tables have been published separately accompanying this evidence report.

Shared parental leave evaluation report

A comprehensive evaluation of the shared parental leave system assessing whether the implementation of shared parental leave achieved its original objectives was published in June 2023. This report contains summary findings from the Parental Right Survey (PRS), the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey (MWPS), HMRC RTI data but also additional evidence from the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAS) for the purpose of the evaluation and ongoing monitoring.

DWP Maternity Allowance quarterly statistics data

Quarterly statistics on the number of Maternity Allowance (MA) spells have not been summarised in this paper but are available. These statistics are currently suspended due to sample size issues and a new operational system to record Maternity Allowance cases is in development.

Additional evidence sources

Information on the number of live births in the UK have been presented below based on life event statistics for England and Wales produced by the Office for National Statistics and figures for Scotland by National Records of Scotland.

Data on the number of births in Great Britain

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish information on the number of live births in England and Wales^{[footnote 1]} and data for Scotland comes from the National Records of Scotland^{[footnote 2]}. Figures for Northern Ireland have not been included as employment law is devolved (transferred).  Figures for England and Wales have been combined with data for Scotland to present the total number of live births in Great Britain since 2010.

Table 1: number of live births, Great Britain, 2010 to 2023

Year	Live births in England and Wales	Live births in Scotland	Total births in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland)
2010	723,165	58.791	781,956
2011	723,913	58,590	782,503
2012	729,674	58,027	787,701
2013	698,512	56,014	754,526
2014	695,233	56,725	751,958
2015	697,852	55,098	752,950
2016	696,271	54,488	750,759
2017	679,106	52,861	731,967
2018	657,076	51,308	708,384
2019	640,370	49,863	690,233
2020	613,936	46,809	660,745
2021	624,828	47,786	672,614
2022	605,479	46,959	652,438
2023	591,072	45,935	637,007

Eligibility

Summary of eligibility

The Annual Population Survey (APS) collects information on the employment circumstances of individuals across the UK and can be broken down to identify those in Great Britain specifically as employment law is reserved in Northern Ireland.

The APS data can be used to estimate the number of female and male employees^{[footnote 3]} with dependent children under one year old to represent parents who have recently had a child. This represents a reasonable approximation of individuals eligible for maternity and paternity leave^{[footnote 4]} in a year. This estimate provides a high-level indication of the eligible population but does not account for all of the detailed eligibility criteria including the lower earnings limit, correct notification requirements and the intention for taking leave^{[footnote 5]}.

Separately, the SPL evaluation report estimated there were 275,000 eligible employee fathers (based on Labour Force Survey January to March 2019), broadly consistent with estimates made in the original impact assessment.

Table 2: number of male and female employees with a dependent child under one year old, January to December 2023

Female employees with a dependent child aged under one year old	Male employees with a dependent child aged under one year old
409,700	427,100

Source: DBT analysis of Annual Population Survey (January to December 2023) 

Table note: all figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

The APS estimates that there were 427,100 employee fathers or partners with a child under one year old in January to December 2023, this figure was published as part of the Making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave a day one right impact assessment. The estimate of 409,700^{[footnote 6]} employee mothers with a child under one year old in January to December 2023 has not been published previously but uses a consistent methodology to the analysis included in the impact assessment.

Awareness of rights (among employees and parents)

Overall awareness of leave

The Parental Rights Survey (PRS) indicates that fathers were more uncertain than mothers about how much leave they were entitled to, with 32 per cent reporting that they don’t know or preferred not to say what they thought their entitlement was, while only 1 in 5 (20 per cent) believed they were entitled to 1 to 2 weeks.

Around 37 per cent of mothers believed they and their partner were entitled to 52 weeks in total, while 1 in 5 (20 per cent) thought they were entitled to 39 weeks and a further 1 in 5 (19 per cent) were not sure or preferred not to say. Around 1 in 8 (13 per cent) mothers believed they were entitled to more than a year’s leave.

Regarding time off after birth, there was a considerable degree of uncertainty with regards to the total amount of leave mothers and fathers thought they and their partner were entitled to; with 1 in 3 fathers, and 1 in 5 mothers that said they did not know or preferred not to say.

Maternity and other leave taken by mothers

Time off before birth

The PRS also finds that in terms of time off before the birth or adoption of their child, fathers appear less aware, than mothers, of the law regarding antenatal appointments.

Seven in 10 (70 per cent) mothers were aware that by law employers must give pregnant employees time off for antenatal care and pay their normal rate for this time off compared with just over half (52 per cent) of fathers and nearly 9 in 10 (86 per cent) SPL parents.

Just 1 in 3 mothers and fathers (34 per cent in each case) from the core sample were aware that the father or pregnant woman’s partner has the right to unpaid time off work to go to 2 antenatal appointments compared with two-thirds (66 per cent) of parents that took SPL.

Awareness of the law regarding antenatal appointments is lower among younger mothers, mothers from all other ethnic groups combined, those with a physical or mental health condition, mothers with lower-level or no qualifications, and those working in smaller organisations, in profit-making organisations, in lower occupational groups and among mothers who had been in their job for a shorter period of time.

Awareness of maternity leave

The PRS finds that awareness of mothers being entitled to a year off work by law remains stable – 68 per cent of mothers in the most recent survey suggested their legal entitlement was 52 weeks. This compares with 69 per cent of mothers with children born in 2008 and 61 per cent in 2006.

Entitlements from employers also seem to have remained stable over time, with 54 per cent of mothers in the most recent survey that said their employer allowed a year, compared with 53 per cent in 2008 and 48 per cent in 2006.

Uncertainty over mothers’ legal entitlement and the amount of leave offered by their employer was higher than average among mothers on lower incomes (under £20,000), with lower-level qualifications (below degree level), those with a health condition, mothers who were working in smaller workplaces, where there was no trade union presence, as well as in profit-making businesses, where mothers had been in their job for less than 2 years and where mothers were not at supervisory level.

Paternity and shared parental leave

Awareness of paternity leave

No data collected in either Parental Rights Survey or Management and Wellbeing Practices

Awareness of shared parental leave

The PRS finds a third (33 per cent) of all mothers from the core sample who did not take SPL had not heard of SPL at all when their baby was born or adopted, and the proportion was closer to half (45 per cent) among all fathers that did not take SPL.

A further 15 per cent of mothers had heard of SPL but did not know what it was, and around 1 in 10 (11 per cent) fathers. Overall, only around 1 in 7 mothers and fathers who had not taken SPL were aware of it and fully understood what it was (15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively).

Among core mothers that did not take SPL, the proportion that had not heard of SPL at all was particularly high among mothers with no formal qualifications (61 per cent), mothers working in skilled trades, process and elementary occupations (57 per cent) and those that who had worked in their pre-birth job for less than 2 years (54 per cent).

Among fathers that did not take SPL, awareness of SPL was noticeably lower among Black and Asian fathers (60 per cent and 56 per cent respectively). Lower awareness of SPL is also reported among fathers with no qualifications (72 per cent), in the North West of England (68 per cent) and among workers (74 per cent), those on lower incomes (63 per cent among those on incomes below £20,000), and in skilled, process and elementary occupations (61 per cent).

Awareness of rights (among employers)

Awareness of shared parental leave

The Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey (MWPS) found that almost three-quarters of managers (73 per cent) were aware of Shared Parental Leave (SPL), with levels of awareness higher in larger workplaces; 94 per cent of managers in workplaces with 250 or more employees were aware compared with 71 per cent in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Overall, almost 9 in 10 employees (86 per cent) worked in a workplace where there was awareness of SPL. Among employers who were aware of SPL, almost all (94 per cent) knew that it was a legal right.

One-sixth (15 per cent) of workplace managers stated they had a good level of knowledge of SPL and knew what this involved. A further 43 per cent were aware and had some knowledge of what was involved, and 16 per cent were aware but did not know what was involved.

Employers are able to reclaim at least some of the cost of paying out SMP from HMRC. Respondents who stated that at least one employee had taken maternity leave in the past 2 years were asked whether they were aware of this entitlement.

In around three-fifths (62 per cent) of workplaces where at least one employee had taken maternity leave in the past 2 years, managers were aware they could reclaim the costs of paying out SMP. This compares to three-fifths (60 per cent) of workplaces where at least one employee took paternity leave in the previous 2 years and three-fifths (61 per cent) of workplaces where an employee had taken SPL in the 2 years prior to the survey. This suggests similar levels of awareness among employers of the ability to reclaim costs across statutory payments.

In general terms, awareness increases among medium-sized and large workplaces.

Take-up of leave

The PRS finds more than 4 in 5 (83 per cent) mothers took maternity leave, with take up higher than average among older mothers, those in full time employment, on higher incomes, working in public administration, health and education sectors, those who had worked in their job for a longer period of time and in higher occupational groups.

Take up of maternity leave was significantly lower among workers (36 per cent) and self-employed mothers (61 per cent), compared with mothers that were employees before birth (89 per cent).

Three in 5 (59 per cent) fathers took paternity leave, which is significantly lower than the take up of maternity leave (83 per cent) although it does increase significantly among fathers that were employees before birth (to 70 per cent).

One per cent of all mothers and 4 per cent of fathers took shared parental leave, while 9 per cent of mothers said they took no time off after the birth of their child, compared with twice as many fathers (18 per cent). Among both mothers and fathers, the proportions that took no time off increases particularly among workers, those who were self-employed, all other ethnic groups combined, those on lower incomes and with lower-level or no qualifications.

Fathers that did not take statutory leave were more than 3 times as likely as mothers to say this was because they could not afford to (35 per cent; 11 per cent among mothers).

Reasons for not taking leave

The PRS finds, for mothers that took no leave at all or took other leave that was not statutory, the most frequently mentioned reason is the belief that they were not entitled to leave (41 per cent). More than 1 in 4 (29 per cent) did not know whether they were entitled to leave, and just under 1 in 4 (23 per cent) left work prior to the birth of their child. One in 10 (11 per cent) mothers said they could not afford to take statutory leave following the birth or adoption of their child.

Fathers that did not take statutory leave were more than 3 times as likely as mothers to say this was because they could not afford to (35 per cent), with the next highest proportion (27 per cent) that said they were not entitled to any statutory leave. Around 1 in 7 (15 per cent) fathers were not sure of their entitlements, or said they were too busy at work to take leave (14 per cent).

Reasons why more leave was not taken

Financial reasons dominate as to why mothers, fathers and those that took SPL did not take more leave after the birth or adoption of their child. The PRS finds, in around 2 in 5 cases no longer being able to afford to remain on leave was cited as the reason for returning to work.

The second main reason, and significantly more so for parents that took SPL, was that they were not entitled to any more leave. While around 1 in 7 mothers, fathers and SPL parents wanted to go back to work.

Concerns about harming their career or business, by taking more leave, were higher among fathers than mothers, and higher still among parents that took SPL.

Maternity leave

The proportion of mothers that took Maternity leave is higher than average among mothers aged 35 and over (88 per cent; 81 per cent among those under 35), mothers of White ethnicity (84 per cent; 78 per cent among all other ethnic groups combined), and mothers with higher level qualifications (92 per cent among those qualified to degree or above; 80 per cent below degree level). Maternity leave take-up was also most commonly reported among those who were employees (89 per cent; 36 per cent of workers and 61 per cent of self-employed mothers), worked full time hours (89 per cent; 76 per cent among part time), those who were on higher incomes (96 per cent among those on £40,000 or more; 81 per cent among those earning under £20,000).

The proportion of mothers that did not take any time off following the birth or adoption of their child is particularly high among mothers that had been in their job for less than 2 years (39 per cent) and increases to nearly 1 in 4 (23 per cent) among mothers under the age of 25. The proportion of mothers taking no time off is also higher than average among lone parents (19 per cent), Asian mothers (16 per cent), those with a health condition (22 per cent), and mothers with lower-level qualifications (11 per cent among those qualified below degree level; 5 per cent at degree level or above).

Mothers who were workers before the birth or adoption of their child were also much more likely to say they took no time off (41 per cent), as were self-employed mothers (18 per cent) compared with mothers who were employees before birth (6 per cent).

Income also appears to be a determining factor, with mothers that earned less than £20,000 per annum more likely than those on higher incomes not to have taken any form of leave (12 per cent; just one per cent among those earning £40,000 or more per annum). The proportion that did not take any time off is also higher than average among mothers who worked in the hospitality sector before birth or adoption (19 per cent) and those in skilled, process and elementary occupations (18 per cent).

Paternity leave

Take up of paternity leave is lower than for maternity leave. Three in 5 (59 per cent) fathers took paternity leave following the birth or adoption of their child, while 4 per cent took shared parental leave and 1 in 5 (21 per cent) took time off that was not categorised as a formal type of parental leave.

Based on fathers who were employees before the birth of their child the take up of paternity leave increased to 70 per cent, compared with just 38 per cent among fathers that were workers before birth and 12 per cent among self-employed fathers.

Take up of paternity leave was also significantly higher than average among the following groups of fathers:

• fathers of White ethnicity (64 per cent; 49 per cent among fathers from all other ethnic groups combined)
• those educated to degree level or above (69 per cent; 55 per cent among those below degree level) or with no qualifications (47 per cent)
• fathers on the highest incomes (79 per cent among those earning £40,000 or more per annum before birth; 54 per cent among those earning less than £20,000)
• those working in larger organisations (79 per cent in organisations with 250 or more employees; 52 per cent where less than 50 are employed)
• those working in central government (84 per cent) and in public administration health or education (74 per cent); and in professional (78 per cent) or associate professional or technical occupations (75 per cent)
• fathers that had worked in their pre-birth job for more than 5 years (66 per cent)

Take up of paternity leave was lower than average among fathers that worked in skilled, process or elementary occupations (51 per cent); those that worked in the primary, manufacturing or construction sectors (52 per cent), and among fathers of all other ethnic groups combined (49 per cent).

As with mothers, income also appears to be a factor among fathers; just over half (54 per cent) of fathers earning less than £20,000 per annum took paternity leave, compared with 4 in 5 (79 per cent) fathers earning at least £40,000 per annum. One in 4 (27 per cent) fathers on incomes below £20,000 took no leave at all, compared with 7 per cent of fathers on the highest incomes (£40,000 or more).

Just under 1 in 5 (18 per cent) of all fathers said they did not take any time off, which is twice as high as the proportion among mothers (9 per cent). The 2009 survey suggested 9 per cent of fathers took no time off.

The proportion of fathers that took no time off after the birth of their child increases significantly among Black and Asian fathers (32 per cent and 29 per cent respectively); among those with no formal qualifications (32 per cent); is higher among those living inside London than outside (26 per cent; 16 per cent) and among fathers that were workers (38 per cent) or self-employed (44 per cent).

Of all the fathers who took any type of leave and were employees, three-quarters (74 per cent) took paternity leave, 3 in 5 (60 per cent) took annual leave, and 7 per cent took SPL.

Multi-variate analysis of the Parental Rights Survey determined which factors were most strongly related to whether fathers took paternity leave. The biggest driver of taking paternity leave was whether childcare vouchers (or similar help) is offered by the employer.

Shared parental leave

Just one per cent of all mothers (and similarly one per cent among employee mothers) and 4 per cent of fathers from the core sample (and 5 per cent that were employee fathers) took SPL.

The proportion taking SPL increased among older parents, those on higher incomes, parents qualified to degree level or above, and among higher occupational groups.

Overall, parents that took SPL are more likely than mothers and fathers in general to be older, of White ethnicity, married, better qualified, employees (rather than workers or self-employed) and on higher incomes (earning an average of just under £43,500 before birth, compared with just under £17,200 per annum for all mothers and just under £28,900 for all fathers).

Parents that took SPL are also more likely to have worked before the birth or adoption of their child in public administration, health or education sectors, or in business, professional or other services, and to have worked as managers, senior officials or in professional occupations and in larger organisations

Employer perspectives on take-up (MWPS)

Maternity leave

In just over one-third (36 per cent) of all workplaces, at least one employee had taken maternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey.

When considered in terms of employees, 7 per cent of all female employees in workplaces with at least 5 employees had taken maternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey. This stood at 8 per cent in the 2013 work life balance survey.

Unsurprisingly, given their greater number of employees overall, medium-sized and large workplaces were more likely to have had at least one employee take maternity leave. Around three-fifths (62 per cent) of workplaces with 250 or more employees, and three-quarters (74 per cent) of workplaces with between 50 and 249 employees had had at least one employee take maternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey, compared with 32 per cent of workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Some differences were observed by industry. The highest prevalence of at least one employee taking maternity leave was found in the education and health and social work sectors, where this stood at 62 per cent and 57 per cent respectively. Both sectors have a higher-than-average share of female employees (83 per cent each, compared with an average of 54 per cent).

Paternity leave

In over one-quarter (27 per cent), at least one employee had taken paternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey.

In 30 per cent of workplaces with at least one male employee, at least one had taken paternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey. Overall, 5 per cent of all male employees within workplaces of at least 5 employees had taken paternity leave in the 2 years prior to the survey. There was also no variation by workplace size.

Adoption leave

An employee had taken adoption leave in the 2 years prior to the survey in 2 per cent of all workplaces. This was more common in the public sector, where this applied to 10 per cent of workplaces, compared with 4 per cent in the third sector and one per cent in the private sector.

It was also more common in large workplaces, with around one-quarter (26 per cent) of workplaces with 250 or more employees having at least one employee take adoption leave, compared with 6 per cent of medium-sized workplaces and just one per cent of workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Shared parental leave

In 4 per cent of workplaces where the respondent was aware of SPL, at least one employee had taken SPL in the 2 years prior to the survey. This is equivalent to 3 per cent of all workplaces. Large workplaces were much more likely to have had at least one employee take SPL (37 per cent), compared with medium-sized workplaces (11 per cent) and small workplaces (3 per cent).

How leave is taken

Maternity leave

When maternity leave starts

According to the PRS, more than two-fifths (44 per cent) of all mothers stopped working prior to the start of their maternity leave, using annual leave, emergency leave or other leave, and this was more likely to be the case among mothers with a health condition (62 per cent), those working for large employers with 250 or more employees (55 per cent) and less likely to be the case among those working for local government (32 per cent) and those in receipt of MA (31 per cent).

Where mothers had stopped work before their maternity leave, over 3 in 5 (63 per cent) stopped working up to 4 weeks before their maternity leave began. One in 5 (20 per cent) stopped working more than 4 weeks before their maternity leave began, while a similar proportion did not know or preferred not to say. On average mothers stopped working just under 4 weeks before their maternity leave started.

Maternity leave duration

The PRS finds that in terms of the number of weeks after birth maternity leave ended, few mothers (5 per cent) had maternity leave that lasted less than 24 weeks after the birth of their child. Three in 10 (31 per cent) said their maternity leave ended between 25 and 38 weeks after birth, few mothers (5 per cent) say their Maternity eave ended 39 weeks after birth, 3 in 10 (30 per cent) had maternity leave that ended 40 to 51 weeks after birth. One in 10 (11 per cent) had maternity leave of a year or more after birth.

Overall, three-quarters (75 per cent) of mothers took the statutory amount of leave, of 39 weeks or more. Just under 1 in 5 mothers (18 per cent) took fewer than 39 weeks maternity leave. On average mothers’ maternity leave lasted for nearly 44 weeks in total, with 40 weeks of those weeks after birth of their child. This represents an increase over time, from an average of 32 weeks in 2006, to 39 weeks in 2008.

The actual amount of leave offered by employers increased among those with higher incomes, and higher-level qualifications (degree level and above), in larger companies, among mothers who were supervisors, who had been in their job for more than 5 years and worked in central government. The number of weeks maternity leave offered by employers was significantly lower than average in workplaces with no trade union presence.

Paternity leave

Paternity leave duration

The PRS finds that three-quarters (76 per cent) of all fathers that took paternity leave took up their full paternity leave entitlement. Among the 1 in 5 (22 per cent) fathers that did not take their full paternity leave entitlement, the main reason was that they could not afford to (62 per cent). A quarter (24 per cent) said it was because they took annual leave instead, and 1 in 8 (12 per cent) said that they were too busy at work and slightly fewer (9 per cent) that they took all the leave they needed to.

The mean average duration of paternity leave taken by all fathers was 1.7 weeks.

Across all forms of leave, among fathers that did take some time off following the birth or adoption of their child, 1 in 10 (10 per cent) took a week or less, and around a quarter (23 per cent) took 2 weeks off.

In total a fifth (22 per cent) of fathers that took some form of leave took 7 or more weeks off between the time their child was born and when they were 12 months old. The mean number of weeks taken among all fathers was 4.8 weeks, and for fathers who took SPL it was considerably higher, at 17.4 weeks.

Shared parental leave

Shared parental leave duration

The PRS finds that 1 in 5 parents (20 per cent) that took SPL at all, took 6 or fewer weeks as SPL, and a further 1 in 5 (19 per cent) took between 7 and 12 weeks. Around 1 in 3 (30 per cent) SPL parents, and the highest proportion of SPL mothers (23 per cent) and SPL fathers (37 per cent) took between 13 and 26 weeks as SPL. An average of just over 16 weeks were taken among all SPL parents, and the average was significantly higher among mothers (19 weeks) than fathers (14 weeks).

Shared parental leave patterns in use

In the majority of cases (83 per cent) SPL was taken ‘all as one’ rather than in blocks (15 per cent), according to the PRS.

There was greater variation in terms of whether the leave was taken at the same or different times to their partner. In just over 1 in 3 (35 per cent) cases SPL was taken at the same time as their partner, while a higher proportion (45 per cent) of parents took their SPL at different times to their partner, and for just under 1 in 5 (18 per cent) SPL parents some of their leave was at the same time as their partner and some at a different time.

Reasons for not taking SPL

When PRS respondents were asked about the reasons why they did not take SPL, the highest proportion of both mothers (31 per cent) and fathers (34 per cent) said that it would have a negative financial impact for the family. Almost the same proportion (30 per cent) of mothers and around 1 in 5 (17 per cent) fathers said they did not want to share or take this leave. Nearly 1 in 5 (18 per cent) fathers and 1 in 8 (13 per cent) mothers said their partner did not want to share or take this leave.

Reasons for taking less than 50 weeks SPL

When PRS respondents who took less than 50 weeks SPL were asked why they did not take more time as SPL, the main reasons given, which are each cited by around two-fifths are either that they could not afford to, or they took all the leave that they needed, and there is little variation between fathers and mothers. Around 1 in 7 parents were worried about harming their career or business or said they or their partner took occupational or enhanced SMP.

The MWPS finds an average (mean) length of SPL reported for men was 10 weeks, while for women this stood at 14 weeks. A substantial proportion of respondents did not know the length of leave (21 per cent for men and 44 per cent of women), and the small sample sizes on which these figures are based mean these estimates should be treated with caution.

Among workplaces where employees had taken SPL, 1 in 10 (9 per cent) had at least one employee take it in multiple blocks. In a further 63 per cent no employees had taken SPL in blocks. Around one-quarter (28 per cent) of employers did not know whether their employees had taken SPL in multiple blocks.

Pay received on leave

Maternity Allowance

According to the PRS, virtually all mothers (96 per cent) were eligible for Maternity Allowance.

One in 10 (9 per cent) mothers who did not receive SMP had applied for Maternity Allowance. Among the 9 in 10 (87 per cent) who did not, 3 in 5 (59 per cent) thought they were ineligible, and 2 in 5 (43 per cent) did not know about it.

Among the 14 per cent of mothers who received MA, close to half (48 per cent) received it for 39 weeks or more, while 3 in 10 (30 per cent) received it for less than 39 weeks. On average MA was received for 36 weeks.

When asked if they knew why they received MA, the main reasons provided were because they had not worked long enough for their employer (17 per cent), they did not earn enough (14 per cent), they were self-employed (12 per cent), or because they were unemployed (10 per cent).

Statutory Maternity Pay

The PRS finds, 7 in 10 (70 per cent) biological mothers say they received Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) when they had their child, while 1 in 7 (14 per cent) received Maternity Allowance (MA) and a similar proportion (13 per cent) received Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP).

One in 6 (16 per cent) reported receiving none of these types of maternity pay; and this proportion was particularly high, at closer to a third, among mothers under 25 years of age, those with a physical or mental condition, lone parents, those with the lowest incomes and in the lowest occupational groups. The proportion that received none of these types of pay or benefit increases to nearly half among mothers that had worked in their job for less than 2 years.

Among mothers taking SPL, 9 in 10 (89 per cent) received SMP, half (49 per cent) received OMP, while less than 1 in 10 (7 per cent) received MA. Less than 1 in twenty (3 per cent) reported receiving none of these.

Overall, 3 in 5 (58 per cent) biological mothers, and 44 per cent of those taking SPL received SMP only. One in 10 of all biological mothers also received MA and OMP (12 per cent in both instances), while close to half (48 per cent) of those taking SPL also received OMP.

Where mothers did not get SMP, the main reason was because they were unemployed (43 per cent). Other reasons included not having worked for long enough (20 per cent), giving up work too early, and a lack of awareness of SMP (both 15 per cent), being self-employed (9 per cent) and not earning enough (6 per cent).

Three-fifths (61 per cent) of all mothers in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay received it for 39 weeks or more, while 1 in 4 did so for less than 39 weeks (28 per cent). Among the mothers who received MA, close to half (48 per cent) received it for 39 weeks or more, while 3 in 10 (30 per cent) received it for less than 39 weeks. Of all mothers who received OMP, more than 2 in 5 (45 per cent) received it for 39 weeks or more, and 2 in 5 (40 per cent) received OMP for a shorter period.

Occupational or enhanced Maternity Pay

Reported by employees and parents

The PRS finds, of the 13 per cent of all mothers who received OMP, more than 2 in 5 (45 per cent) received it for 39 weeks or more, and 2 in 5 (40 per cent) for a shorter period. On average mothers received OMP for 33 weeks.

A large proportion of all mothers did not know or preferred not to say what the enhanced percentage of their normal pay they were paid was (57 per cent). Where mothers did offer a response, 1 in 10 (12 per cent) said the figure was up to 80 per cent, while 3 in 10 (31 per cent) said it was greater than this.

One in 7 (14 per cent) of all mothers that received OMP received full pay all of the time.

Close to half (46 per cent) of all mothers said that they could only afford to take time off while they were receiving OMP, while around 1 in 10 (12 per cent) said they were obliged under the scheme to return to work after a certain amount of time. Three in 10 (31 per cent) mothers reported that receiving OMP made no difference to the time they returned to work.

By far the biggest driver of taking maternity leave and pay was duration in job. This was followed by “Mothers whose workplace had recognised staff associations or trades union groups” and “Mothers for whom a ‘keep in touch’ scheme is offered by employer during maternity.”

Reported by employers

The MWPS asked if workplaces offered female employees taking maternity leave additional pay, beyond SMP. Just under one fifth (17 per cent) of workplaces paid more than the statutory minimum, with this proportion being much higher among large workplaces (54 per cent, compared to 30 per cent in medium-sized workplaces and 15 per cent in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees).

Around half (55 per cent) of workplaces did not pay more than the statutory minimum, with a further 28 per cent not knowing if they did, and one per cent saying it depended on the employee. In comparison, in 2013, 13 per cent of workplaces offered more than the statutory minimum to at least some employees, while 67 per cent stated they did not, and the remaining 19 per cent were unsure.

Among workplaces who were aware what percentage of normal pay was offered (49 per cent of managers in workplaces were unaware), just over two-thirds (69 per cent) paid full pay, and a further 14 per cent paid 90 per cent of normal pay. One in 10 (10 per cent) paid 50 per cent of normal pay.

Among workplaces where the length of occupational maternity pay was known (53 per cent of workplaces were unaware), on average, employers reported paying this for a 17-week period. More than half (54 per cent) paid this for up to 12 weeks, with a further 28 per cent paying this for between 13 and 26 weeks and 17 per cent paying for more than 26 weeks. The average (mean) number of weeks this was paid for stood at 19 weeks in the private sector, compared with 14 weeks in the public sector and 15 weeks in the third sector.

Among those offering 100 per cent of normal pay, 14 per cent were doing so for up to 6 weeks, with a further 26 per cent doing so for 7 to 12 weeks. Eight per cent were offering this for more than 26 weeks.

Statutory Paternity Pay

The majority of fathers received full pay throughout their paternity leave. Of the 23 per cent that did not receive full pay for any weeks, two-thirds (64 per cent) were paid at the statutory rate per week 1 in 10 (9 per cent) were paid a proportion or percentage of their salary.

Occupational or enhanced Paternity Pay

Reported by employees and parents

Six in 10 (58 per cent) fathers received full pay throughout their paternity leave, while a quarter (23 per cent) did not receive full pay at all and the remainder did not know or preferred not to say.

Compared with 2009, findings suggest that in 2019, fathers that did take paternity leave are likely to have received full pay for a longer period of time, with significantly fewer receiving full pay for less than 7 days.

Reported by employers

In contrast to the PRS, the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey found that just under one fifth (17 per cent) of workplaces offered additional pay, while more than half (57 per cent) did not. A quarter (25 percent) did not know and one per cent reported it depends on the employee.

However, these figures varied by workplace size, with larger establishments more likely than small and medium-sized workplaces to pay above the statutory minimum; almost half (47 per cent) of workplaces with 250 or more employees did so compared with one-quarter (25 per cent) of medium-sized workplaces and 16 per cent of small workplaces.

The likelihood also varied by industry and sector. Workplaces in public administration and defence (44 per cent) were most likely to offer pay above the statutory minimum, while workplaces in the health and social work and hotels and restaurants sectors, were least likely to do so (9 per cent for both sectors).

While almost one-third (31 per cent) of employers in the public sector offered benefits beyond the minimum, this proportion was much lower in the private and third sectors (16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively).

Among workplaces who were aware what percentage of normal pay was offered while on paternity (38 per cent of workplaces were unaware), more than 9 in 10 (92 per cent) paid employees their usual rate of pay while on paternity leave.

In terms of workplaces who offered additional paternity leave beyond the statutory 2 weeks; half (51 per cent) offered no additional leave and a further two-fifths (40 per cent) did not know if they did. The average (mean) length of additional leave was one week. Larger workplaces were more likely than smaller workplaces to offer additional paternity leave.

Shared parental pay

For two-fifths (40 per cent) of all parents on SPL none of their leave was at full pay and around 1 in 4 (23 per cent) did not know or preferred not to say. Parents on SPL received Statutory Shared Parental Pay for an average of 7 weeks, which was equivalent to just over two-fifths (44 per cent) of their time on leave, on average. Mothers received statutory pay for a higher proportion of their time on leave than fathers (53 per cent on average; 37 per cent).

The vast majority (71 per cent) did not receive an enhanced rate of pay for any of their SPL, and on average enhanced pay was received for less than a week. For just over half (55 per cent) of parents on SPL none of their leave was unpaid, while on average parents were unpaid for nearly 3 weeks (2.7) of their leave, which equates to 14 per cent of their leave on average.

Occupational or enhanced Shared Parental Pay

Reported by employers (MWPS findings)

An estimated 8 per cent of workplaces where managers were aware of SPL said they would pay more than the statutory level of SShPP. Of those workplaces that offered enhanced maternity pay, 35 per cent also offered more than the statutory minimum for SShPP (33 per cent did not and 32 per cent did not know).

Larger workplaces were more likely to pay more than the statutory minimum; this applied for 22 per cent of workplaces with 250 or more employees compared with 8 per cent of workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. Among workplaces that knew what percentage of normal pay was offered (32 per cent did not know), three-quarters (75 per cent) would offer 100 per cent of the employee’s normal pay.

On average this rate of pay was offered for a 16-week period, although in 44 per cent it was not known how long this would be paid for.

Managers in almost half (45 per cent) of workplaces said that the enhancement to shared parental pay would apply for the whole period, while 25 per cent stated this would vary over time and 31 per cent did not know. Larger workplaces were more likely to apply the enhancement for the whole period, with 68 per cent doing so.

Workplaces most commonly enhanced shared parental pay to improve staff wellbeing (23 per cent). Around one fifth of workplaces did so to offer flexibility and family friendly policies (20 per cent) and to improve staff retention among parents (18 per cent).

Managers in workplaces not offering enhanced shared parental pay were asked why. In 23 per cent of workplaces they reported the reason for not enhancing shared parental pay because it was too expensive. The next most common reasons were the small size of the workplace (reported by 17 per cent) and a lack of interest or likely uptake (13 per cent).

Return to work

Reason for returning to work following maternity leave

Maternity leave coming to an end and needing the money are the main reasons for mothers returning to work when they did; 1 in 3 mothers cited each of these as their main reason for returning in the Parental Rights Survey.

Aside from their primary reasons, at least 1 in 5 mothers wanted to return to work because they missed the company at work (22 per cent), they wanted to work to be independent (27 per cent) or they enjoy working and were keen to return (31 per cent).

Mothers on the highest incomes before birth were significantly less likely to say their main reason for retuning was either because their leave came to an end or they needed the money and were significantly more likely to say they returned because they enjoy working and were keen to return. The financial pressure to return to work, because they needed the money was greater among those with lower-level qualifications or no qualifications (37 per cent mention needing the money as their main reason; 30 per cent at degree level or above), and mothers located in the South East (43 per cent).

Return to work rates

Following the birth or adoption of their child over half (54 per cent) of all mothers, and around three-quarters (77 per cent) of all fathers and parents taking SPL (72 per cent) went back to their previous job and were still there at the time of interview. A further 1 in 10 mothers, and around 1 in 6 fathers and parents that took SPL returned to the same job but had since left, either to start a new job or were still not working at the time of interview.

A third (34 per cent) of mothers did not go back to their previous job, including 1 in 5 (22 per cent) that were still not working at the time of interview. In contrast, very few fathers and parents that took SPL did not return to their pre-birth job and remained out of work (2 per cent and 3 per cent).

At the time of interview (within 18 months after birth of their child), 73 per cent of mothers had returned to work (either in the same job as pre-birth or a new one), which compares with 77 per cent for mothers with children born in 2008 and 76 per cent for those with children born in 2006.

Mothers under the age of 25 were least likely to have returned to the same job and still been working there (33 per cent). Nearly 3 in 5 (58 per cent) mothers under 25 years of age did not return to their pre-birth job at all, including nearly 2 in 5 (38 per cent) that did not return and had still not started another job.

Older mothers over the age of 30 were more likely than mothers on average to have returned to the same job they were in before the birth or adoption of their child, and the proportion that did not return and had not started another job was lowest among mothers over 35 years of age (14 per cent).

Changes in arrangements on return to work

Where parents did return to their pre-birth job, mothers were much more likely than fathers to have experienced some change to their working hours (32 per cent; 3 per cent) or working arrangements (24 per cent; 2 per cent).

Most fathers experienced no changes to their role or working arrangements (93 per cent; 53 per cent of mothers).

The change in employment after birth is more pronounced among mothers, as found in other studies, mothers tend to change their work patterns to accommodate the demands of parenthood much more than fathers, despite prevailing attitudes that parenting should be shared.

Of those parents who worked full time hours before birth, 57 per cent of mothers were still working full time hours in their first job after birth and 63 per cent were still full time at the time of interview (versus 86 and 84 per cent of fathers respectively).

In terms of income, of the mothers earning £25,000 to £39,999 before birth 13 per cent were earning less than this after birth. Of those who earned £40,000 or more per annum before birth, 12 per cent were on lower incomes by the time of interview. The equivalent proportions among fathers are lower, at 2 per cent and one per cent respectively.

Commuting patterns

Mothers were more likely than fathers to say their commute pre and after birth was less than 30 minutes (74 per cent of mothers pre-birth and 72 per cent post-birth, compared with 55 per cent of fathers pre-birth and 60 per cent post-birth).

Other aspects in the survey also suggest that childcare responsibilities fall more to mothers than to fathers, which therefore contribute to the need for mothers to reduce the hours they work after birth, and the distance they travel to work. This includes 7 in 10 mothers stating that they are the main adult in their household responsible for planning and arranging childcare, compared with 8 per cent of fathers; mothers citing wanting to work part time as the top reason for starting a new job after the birth of their child; and that mothers were more likely to have a shorter commute to work than fathers.

Parents that did not return to work

Of the parents that were out of work at the time of interview (25 per cent), 9 in 10 (90 per cent) mothers described their status as looking after the home or family. While a significantly lower proportion of fathers (27 per cent) described themselves as looking after the home or family.

The PRS listed 22 factors and asked parents how big a factor they were in not wanting to work or being able to do paid work. The highest proportion (47 per cent) of mothers said that wanting to look after their child themselves was a ‘big factor’ and just slightly fewer said that there not being enough affordable childcare was a ‘big factor’ (43 per cent). Around a third of mothers (35 per cent) said needing a job where they could take time off at short notice to look after their child; and 28 per cent of mothers said being worried that they will not have enough time with their child were considered ‘big factors’ in wanting or being able to do paid work. Just over a fifth (23 per cent) of mothers said a ‘big factor’ was that they were not sure whether they would financially be better off if they were in work.

Impact of taking leave

Positive impacts

In terms of the consequences of taking leave, mothers were most likely to cite that it was a better option for childcare arrangements (26 per cent) or that it allowed both parents to have a full role in caring for the child (25 per cent).

Fathers were most likely to say that being able to support their partner was a positive consequence of the leave they took, while the next highest proportion said that it allowed both parents to have a full role in caring for the child, and this factor was mentioned more so by fathers than mothers (39 per cent; 25 per cent).

Parents that took SPL were even more likely to cite allowing both parents to have a full role in caring for the child as a positive consequence of the leave that they took (63 per cent). They were also much more likely to say that it enabled the other parent to have a fuller role in caring for the baby (39 per cent). Parents that took SPL also stand out for being more likely to mention that their leave enabled them to spend time or bond with their child (24 per cent) and that it enabled the mother to go back to work earlier (15 per cent).

In terms of treatment by employers, fewer fathers in 2019 compared with 2009 appear to have experienced any problems or difficulties with regards to the leave they took (just 3 per cent compared to 9 per cent in 2009^{[footnote 7]}. The vast majority (95 per cent) of all fathers in 2019 reported having no problems or difficulties with their employer in terms of their leave.

Negative impacts

When asked about the negative consequences of the leave they took fathers were most likely to say there are none (63 per cent, compared with 45 per cent of mothers and 46 per cent of parents that took SPL). Two-fifths (42 per cent) of mothers said that a negative consequence of the leave they took was that it has had a negative financial impact for the family, compared with around a quarter (24 per cent) of fathers, and a similar proportion (22 per cent) of parents that took SPL.

Mention of the negative financial impact was higher than average among mothers who were in professional (52 per cent) or associate professional and technical occupations (53 per cent). Parents that took SPL were significantly more likely than mothers and fathers in general to cite that a negative consequence from taking their leave was that it negatively affected the career progression of them (9 per cent) or their partner (7 per cent).

Childcare and flexible work arrangements

Around two-thirds of all mothers indicated that someone other than them had looked after their child in the week prior to the Parental Rights Survey, and just over half of fathers.

Overall mothers and fathers were most likely to be relying on grandparents for childcare. Around a third of mothers and fathers generally said a grandparent had looked after their child at some point in the previous week. Day nurseries had been used by 1 in 4 mothers and fathers generally.

In terms of changes over time mothers in 2019 were more likely to suggest no one else looked after their baby (36 per cent) than in 2009 (23 per cent)^{[footnote 8]}. Mothers were less likely to suggest that grandparents looked after their child (49 per cent in 2009* compared to 36 per cent in 2019). Use of childminders also appears to have fallen (from 12 per cent* in 2009 to 7 per cent in 2019).

Seven out of 10 mothers overall said they are the main adult in their household responsible for planning and arranging childcare, while for 1 in 4 (26 per cent) mothers it is an equal combination of them and their partner.

Just 8 per cent of fathers said they are mainly responsible for childcare, and half said their partner is the main adult responsible for childcare arrangements. Fathers were more likely than mothers to say it is an equal combination of them and their partner (43 per cent; 26 per cent).

The proportion of mothers that said their partner regularly looks after their child while they are at work represents an increase compared with 2009 (from 51 per cent to 57 per cent in 2019).

In terms of who might be available to parents if they needed someone as a one-off to look after their child, grandparents were most frequently mentioned by all 3 parent groups, including 70 per cent of all mothers and 64 per cent of fathers.

Family-friendly working arrangements

Overall, more than half of mothers in employment at the time of interview and around two-thirds of fathers (56 and 65 per cent) were not accessing any childcare or family friendly support from their employer.

The support mothers were most likely to be using was either childcare vouchers or flexible working arrangements (14 per cent in each case).

Based on their last main job before the birth of their child around three-quarters (73 per cent) of mothers who were employees or workers said their employer offered part-time working arrangements. The proportion was considerably lower (40 per cent) among fathers.

The next most common type of flexible working arrangement on offer at parents’ pre-birth job was the option to work flexitime, which was available to 1 in 5 (22 per cent) mothers and around 1 in 4 (27 per cent) fathers.

Enablers and barriers to taking leave

The Parental Rights Survey finds 6 inter-related factors influencing the take-up of leave, with finance at the core, which is affected by personal circumstances, skills and qualifications, and work history, employer support, attitudes on gender roles and formal childcare, social and cultural norms and expectations, and sources of information.

Personal and household characteristics

The relationship between the child’s parents and whether they are in a couple, or single parent household affects take-up of parental leave options. SPL may simply not be an option for some parents because of their relationship status. For example, 1 in 4 mothers are lone parents (25 per cent). This proportion increased significantly among mothers aged under 25 years (57 per cent) and mothers of Black ethnic groups (52 per cent). Even in coupled households, the take-up of SPL was significantly higher among parents who are married or living in a civil partnership than those who are co-habiting. This suggests that security in the relationship is also an important determining factor.

The employment status of parents affects their entitlement to various parental rights, and the proportion of fathers that took no time off after the birth or adoption of their child is higher than average among fathers that were workers (38 per cent) or self-employed (44 per cent).

Other significant demographic differences in the pattern of take-up of SPL and paternity leave are likely to be explained by differences in the financial security and occupational position among parents, as well as differences in attitudes and beliefs. For example, the take-up of SPL was higher among parents who were older; two-thirds of SPL parents were aged 35 and over.

Attitudes to work and family

There were differences in the level of agreement to gender attitude statements between mothers and fathers, and notably between parents who took SPL and those that did not. For example, while both mothers and fathers were much more likely to disagree than agree that ‘a man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home and family’, mothers were significantly more likely than fathers to be in disagreement (70 per cent; 58 per cent), and virtually all parents that took SPL disagree with this (96 per cent). Furthermore, the vast majority of both mothers and fathers (84 per cent and 86 per cent) agreed that men should take as much responsibility as women for the home and children, and agreement was even higher among those that took SPL (94 per cent).

However, there is less uniform agreement when attitudes are considered alongside statements presenting various forms of labour market participation among mothers. For example, around 1 in 3 mothers and fathers (32 per cent and 33 per cent) agreed that ‘family life suffers when the woman has a full-time job’, while fathers were more likely than mothers to agree that ‘a pre-school child is likely to suffer if their mother works full time’ (42 per cent; 31 per cent). Among mothers, attitudes to gender roles differed particularly by ethnicity, with mothers from an Asian background significantly more likely to hold traditional attitudes towards gender roles than mothers from a White background.

In general, mothers were more likely than fathers to have progressive attitudes on gender roles (63 per cent; 56 per cent), while SPL parents were even more likely to have these views (79 per cent).

Organising childcare is more likely to fall to mothers with 7 out of 10 saying they are the main adult in their household responsible for planning and arranging childcare. For 1 in 4 mothers, it is an equal combination of them and their partner (26 per cent). Just 8 per cent of fathers said they are mainly responsible for childcare and half said their partner is the main adult responsible for childcare arrangements.

Parents were asked why they did not take more leave, and while financial considerations were most prevalent, there were significant differences between the groups relating to concerns about harming their career or business, by taking more leave. Agreement with this statement was higher among fathers than mothers, and higher still among parents that took SPL, indicating stronger career identity.

Skills, education, work history and cognitive social capital

Prior qualification levels are a proxy for engagement with the labour market and a predictor of employment and earnings, as well as indicating dimensions of cognitive social capital. Data from across the PRS found that prior levels of education was significantly related to the awareness and take-up of a range of parental leave entitlements among parents. For example, the proportion of fathers that took no time off after the birth or adoption of their child was higher than average among those with no formal qualifications (32 per cent compared with 18 per cent among fathers overall).

Lastly, uncertainty over mothers’ legal entitlement and the amount of leave offered by their employer was higher than average among mothers on lower incomes (under £20,000), with lower-level qualifications (below degree level), and where mothers were not at supervisory level or above.

Work opportunities and constraints

Where parents are in work, the policies and practices of their employer affect their decisions around taking parental leave. The willingness of parents to ask their employers about leave options varies according to personal characteristics. For example, younger mothers under the age of 25 were less likely to feel comfortable asking their employer about maternity leave (68 per cent; 81 per cent among mothers on average).

Fathers working in smaller companies (78 per cent where less than 50 were employed; 89 per cent in companies with 250 or more staff) were also less likely to have felt comfortable asking their employer for paternity leave.

There is evidence access to enhanced pay shapes the choices of parents. For example, close to half (46 per cent) of all mothers said that they could only afford to take time off while they were receiving Occupational Maternity Pay.

Sources of information

Parents have several sources of information to help inform their choices, including friends, family, colleagues and their employer. When asked about the factors that helped parents take the leave they took, mothers were more likely than fathers to cite support from family or friends as a factor (21 per cent).

Financial opportunities, and constraints

The financial impact and affordability of taking any type of parental leave is a main consideration for parents. It is influenced by individuals (household income and savings), society (parental rights and pay legislation), and employers if they enhance statutory pay.

The balance of these financial factors often prevents parents from taking up parental leave. For example, among the 1 in 5 fathers (22 per cent) who did not take their full paternity leave entitlement, the main reason was that they could not afford to (62 per cent).

The proportion of fathers that could not afford to take leave increased to more than 1 in 4 among fathers who were in skilled, process or elementary occupations (28 per cent) and up to 1 in 3 among fathers where their household income was £20,000 to £39,999 (32 per cent).

Financial reasons are also mentioned by mothers not taking leave, where 1 in 10 mothers that took no leave at all or took other leave that was not statutory said they could not afford to take statutory leave following the birth or adoption of their child (11 per cent). Two in 5 mothers (41 per cent), fathers (41 per cent) and parents taking SPL (43 per cent) said that they did not take more leave because they could no longer afford to remain on leave. When asked about the reasons why they did not take SPL, the highest proportion of both mothers and fathers said that it would have a negative financial impact for the family (31 per cent of mothers and 34 per cent of fathers).

When asked about the factors that helped parents take the leave they took, support or encouragement from partners appears to be the biggest influence, for both mothers (38 per cent) and fathers (33 per cent), and particularly parents that took SPL (mentioned by 46 per cent).

Attitudes towards shared parenting and shared parental leave

Employer reported (MWPS survey finding)

The most commonly cited advantages of SPL were that it gives parents flexibility and choice (15 per cent), helps with staff recruitment and retention (14 per cent), improves employee morale (14 per cent) and benefits parents and children (13 per cent).

Managers in more than half of workplaces (57 per cent) did not report any disadvantages of providing SPL or pay. The most commonly reported disadvantages were the need to arrange cover for staff (10 per cent), a negative impact on running the business (10 per cent) and the loss in staff (9 per cent). 1in 10 (9 per cent) mentioned that it was complex to set up and manage SPL and pay while 4 per cent thought it caused disruption and 2 per cent stated increased administration.

Smaller workplaces were more likely to be concerned about loss of staff (10 per cent) and the need to arrange cover (11 per cent), while larger workplaces were more likely to note the complexity in set up and management (17 per cent).

1. Births in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics. ↩

2. Vital Events Reference Tables 2023 – National Records of Scotland (NRS). ↩

3. Employees and employment status. ↩

4. Note an additional population of mothers may be entitled to Maternity Allowance and there are different criteria in place to be eligible for statutory pay. ↩

5. See paternity leave eligibility for an example. ↩

6. DBT internal analysis of the Annual Population Survey, January to December 2023. ↩

7. Note some caution is advised in comparing 2009 data which has been generated from the micro data rather than the previous report due to some inconsistencies in how the routing and filtering has worked. ↩

8. Note caution advised with 2009 figures generated from microdata. ↩